This application relates to a method to repair a variable vane for use in a gas turbine engine.
Gas turbine engines typically include a fan delivering air into a core engine and further outward of the core engine as bypass flow for propulsion. The air delivered in the core engine passes into a compressor section where it is compressed by compressor rotors, having blades, and delivered into a combustion section. The compressed air is mixed with fuel and ignited in the combustion section and products of this combustion pass downstream across turbine rotors driving them to rotate.
Typically, there are several stages of compression across the compressor rotors. The stages each include a plurality of rotating blades. It is known to position vanes intermediate the rows of blades to properly condition the air flow heading downstream toward the next row of blades. One type of vane is a variable vane. The variable vane is positioned such that an associated airfoil is received at distinct angles dependent on different conditions of operation of the gas turbine engine. Typically, an actuator drives the airfoils of the variable vanes to rotate to change the angle.
Variable vanes typically have an inner trunnion and an outer trunnion, with the outer trunnion being driven by the actuator. The variable vanes wear with use and any number of locations on a variable vane may require repair.
While many areas on the vane are relatively easy to repair, other areas have been difficult to repair and have resulted in the damaged vane being discarded.